More than any other single development, City Point will single-handedly alter the face of Downtown Brooklyn. Not only is it planned to be an upscale mall, it is bringing three residential towers to the neighborhood. It replaces the Albee Square Mall which was torn down by developer Joe Sitt and replaced by 1.6-1.9 million square feet of development that stretches from Fulton Mall to Willoughby St and runs along Flatbush Ave.

The first two towers were recently announced and will add 650 residential units. The beloved neighborhood restaurant and small retail business incubator DeKalb Market (housed in shipping containers) recently lost its lease for the north end of the building site where the talest high-rise will be built, presumably to make way for construction vehicles to build “Phase 2” of the development (now under construction – completion date est. 2015) which includes retail and 2 high-rises, including one with “affordable” housing. It will also include the much promoted Century 21, an Alamo Cinema Drafthouse, Armani Express and I’m sure more announcements to come.

The biggest unknown is how large the Phase 3 tower will be – this could turn out to be the tallest building in Brooklyn when it is completed in the next 5-10 years and include 600+ residential units or far more. Of course, the city didn’t include any stipulations for a school in the terms of the lease of the city-owned land or the $20 million NYC Economic Development Corporation bonds that the development is receiving. This would have been an obvious location to build a school – large footprint, lots of residential units, centrally located – but it is an opportunity lost. We’ve been told by persons in the know that once the shovel is in the ground, there is no chance of encouraging the developers to do the right thing and enrich the community. Shame on the city for a lost opportunity.